This application in-part discloses and claims material disclosed in our pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 014,200 filed Oct. 15, 1993 to which is claimed benefit to the earlier filing date for common material.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to instructional teaching materials directed towards detection of breast cancer in women, and more precisely to a garment having printed instructions thereon wearable by a woman for self-examination of the breasts.
2. Background of the Invention
The primary procedures used in the detection of breast cancer which are most widely available today are physical examination and mammography. The earlier the cancer is detected the better the chances of successful treatment and recovery. Most of the early detections of tumors are diagnosed by the women themselves with self-examinations, and confirmed by physicians. Therefore early detection of cancer greatly increases the effectiveness of the treatment. Proper instruction of women on the correct procedure of self-examination of the breasts can increase their chances of early detection.
There exists a wide variety of material available on instructing women on self-examination of the breasts for the detection of breast cancer according to medical industry specifications, but this material is almost exclusively provided in the form of printed documents, or audio or video tapes. Hands on experience is most effective during instruction, however this may be inconvenient for the woman while listening or viewing the tapes, especially if there are others present.
One prior art device which provides instruction for breast self-examination includes a breast self-examination facilitator patented by Michelson on May 4, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,582. Michelson's facilitator includes an information panel which can be affixed to an interior wall of a shower or bath, with printed instructions on self-examination and charts for recording information by the user on the panel. While the Michelson device provides written instruction it does not provide the information on a wearable garment.
One prior art device which does provide written information on a wearable garment is shown in a tourist map construction in combination with an article of clothing. This device was patented on Jun. 16, 1992, by Ludmer et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,505. Ludmer et al provides T-shirts having maps of specific areas such as tourist sites or amusement parks printed upside-down on the front of the shirt so the wearer can look down and read the map. While Ludmer et al provides a wearable garment with printed information, the information is not directed toward breast self-examination, and the Ludmer garment is not suitable for a woman to wear while conducting the examination, since breast self-examinations must be done on the skin and not through clothing.
Therefore, there is a need for a wearable device which helps instruct women in the proper hands on procedure of breast self-examination, for the purpose of early detection of cancer, and also provides for the women's privacy during the procedure.